


Stormtroopers do it in uniform

by nekosmuse



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: 5 Times, Cultural Differences, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Holding Hands, Idiots in Love, M/M, Misunderstandings, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Sharing Clothes, Stormtrooper Courtship Rituals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 00:45:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7486743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekosmuse/pseuds/nekosmuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Relationships inside the First Order demand subtlety: after all, fraternization is strictly forbidden, the consequences... unpleasant. Life on D'Qar is different, subtlety leaving too much room for misinterpretation. All things considered, cultural misunderstandings were bound to occur.</p><p>Aka the one where Poe is too busy pining to realize he and Finn have been dating for <i>weeks</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stormtroopers do it in uniform

**Author's Note:**

> I realize I am very late to the party, but that's what happens when your time is not your own and the only movies you see are the ones your child picks on family movie night. Needless to say, falling head first into a new OTP wasn't on my to-do list, but whatcha gonna do?
> 
> Also, apologies if someone has already explored this idea, I literally only discovered this pairing a few days ago and I'm stuck on the idea of Finn walking around thinking Poe's his boyfriend while Poe's stuck thinking his feelings are unrequited. I may have a thing for misunderstanding-fic.

In hindsight, he's not entirely sure how he missed it. It's not like he didn't know. It's not like Finn didn't tell him. Things were different in the First Order, Finn's approach to everything jarring and unusual. Cultural misunderstandings were bound to occur. He just wasn't expecting one of this magnitude.

~*~

I. Stormtroopers hold hands.

He's not thinking clearly, adrenalin still coursing through his veins, the glorious rush that is _flying_ thrumming under his skin until he's half afraid he might come apart at the seams. It's been too long--months of inaction, boots on the ground as they regrouped after StarKiller, the General keeping them close to home. Getting back into the air slots everything neatly back into place, Poe left feeling so damned good he forgets all about self-preservation. There's just so much excess energy, so much _joy_ , he needs to channel it somewhere and Finn is right _there_ , standing on the tarmac, waiting for Poe like Poe is the only person in the damned universe and hell if that isn't almost as good as flying.

So he picks Finn up, or rather, tries to, aiming for a jubilated spin that comes out more like drunken hug-dancing but what does he care? Finn's smiling back, laughing like Poe's the best thing that's happened to him all day and, yeah, Poe might be a little smitten, so he squeezes Finn a bit tighter because this doesn't mean anything but damn he wishes it did.

Poe's a little breathless when they pull apart, but even that's not enough to clear his head, Finn's gaze warm in a way that makes it so easy to thread their fingers together. His grin is stupid, enormous, flying what he was made for and he loves that he can share this with Finn. And Finn, bleeding genuine happiness, glances once to their interlocked fingers before squeezing Poe's hand back, soft smile playing over his lips like maybe he understands just how important all of this is.

"That was some impressive flying," he says, Poe preening because maybe he was showing off a little. Maybe.

"I can't tell you how good that felt. I was going crazy," Poe answers, happy when Finn grins like, yeah, he could tell.

That should be the moment he clues in, the two of them standing in the middle of the flight deck, fingers laced together, grinning dopily at each other like holding your friend's hand is a perfectly ordinary thing to do, like Poe isn't already stupid in love with the man; like Finn isn't looking at Poe like maybe he feels the same. Another minute the obvious would have filtered its way into Poe's flight-addled brain, but by then the deck crew were ordering the all clear, Jessika Pava coming in for her landing and like it not they have to break apart.

Looking back, he's not sure how he missed it.

~*~

_"Sorry, can you repeat that?" he says, because he needs to hear the words again. Finn couldn't possibly have said what he thinks Finn said. That would be ridiculous. Impossible. Except everyone at the table is staring between them, like maybe Finn said exactly what Poe thinks he said and... How could he have missed something so important?_

_And Finn, perfect, amazing Finn, whose fingers are so warm curled around Poe's own, ducks his head, like maybe he's embarrassed, like maybe he's assumed something that Poe's more than happy for him to assume. Except..._

_"I thought telling people was okay? I mean, no one hides it here," Finn says, not embarrassed but confused, maybe even a little scared and..._

_Kriffing hell, Poe's an idiot._

~*~

II. Stormtroopers share food.

After that day on the flight deck, hand holding sort of becomes a thing they do. Poe's not entirely sure why--nine times out of ten it's Finn who initiates it, though he always looks so happy when Poe takes the lead. Finn just likes holding hands, Poe decides, more than happy to play along because, yeah, still smitten, but also Finn's hands are warm and dry and their fingers fit perfectly together and, okay, maybe Poe's more than smitten but Finn doesn't need to know that. If holding hands makes Finn happy then Poe is happy to acquiesce.

Except other people notice--of course they do--and while they're polite enough not to mention it in Finn's hearing they do tease Poe about it mercilessly.

 _He's wearing your jacket. You hold his hand_ , they say and, yeah, he probably really should have figured it out sooner.

"It's not like that," he tells them, because at this point, from his perspective, it isn't. Finn just needed a jacket. Finn just likes holding hands. And so what if it's exactly the kind of thing Poe would do with Finn if Finn was his boyfriend, Finn's not and Poe's not about to pressure him into something he probably a) doesn't want and b) isn't ready for.

Still, they tease him, because it's obvious to anyone who looks at him--except Finn, of course, and there's the rub--that Poe's head over heels and his pilots are nothing if not complete asses.

It's worse when Finn shows up, not because they say anything but because they stare knowingly between the two of them, lump growing in Poe's throat because, damn it, crush aside this isn't supposed to hurt.

"Hey," Finn says, bright and happy and looking only at Poe like he hasn't yet realized there are other people at the table.

That, Poe thinks, is probably in his head--wishful thinking--and yeah, it hurts. It hurts and it sucks and some of that must show because Finn's expression goes soft and he reaches over, hand sliding over Poe's and doesn't that just make everything worse.

"You okay?" Finn asks, loud enough for the others to hear but soft enough for them to know they shouldn't. 

Poe waits for them to beat a hasty retreat before answering, weak smile bruised around the edges.

"Yeah, just hungry," he says, which should be true, Poe waiting on Finn to grab lunch. The lump in his throat is going to make eating a chore.

And Finn--stars could Poe love him more?--tips his head back to laugh, like Poe has just said the funniest thing in the star-system and okay, maybe that deserves a real smile.

"Shoulda said," Finn says. He glances once, surreptitiously, around the room before plucking a slice of seed-bread from his tray and sliding it over. The lump in Poe's throat loosens, enough that he's genuinely smiling when he takes the bread, still warm and smothered in bluefruit jam, and shoves it into his mouth. The smile Finn shoots him is beautific.

Yep, totally should have known.

~*~

The thing is, Jessika tried to tell him.

And she's always been smarter than him--always seeing angles he misses--so yeah, he probably should have listened to her except...

"I think you should tell him," she says after an hour or so of changing fuel cells. System patrols are burning through them at a rate Poe doesn't want--but will eventually have--to think about.

"Can we not," Poe says, in part because he doesn't want to hear it, but mostly because BB-8's fluttering between them and, honestly, having Jess and the others know is one thing: his droid something else entirely.

"I'm just saying, he looks at you sometimes and... If that boy ain't in love I don't know who is."

It's a preposterous a statement as any he's heard but he can't bring himself to laugh. The joke stopped being funny a long time ago.

So he doesn't say anything right away, focusing instead on unsticking a particularly nasty coil; making a mental note to add engine grease to the ever growing laundry list of needed supplies. When he does answer, his words are slow and purposeful, like maybe it'll hide his disappointment. He didn't used to be like this: he swears.

"I know you mean well, but Finn woke up three months ago in a bacta tank, his girl half a galaxy away, with only me for company. I don't know what you call that where you're from, but it's not love.

And that right there is the crux of it, he realizes, because three months was enough for him to get to know Finn--really know him--but not enough for Finn to get over Rey and... yeah. Who knew the dashing stormtrooper who came to his rescue would end up saving the galaxy, standing toe to toe with Kylo fucking Ren, and then stick around long enough for Poe to fall in love with him?

It defies logic.

"You sure about that?" Jess asks, like she thinks he's an idiot, like someone's let her in on a joke Poe hasn't quite worked out.

Yeah, he definitely should have listened to her.

~*~

III. Stormtroopers share effects

The thing is, Poe gave Finn his jacket. And okay, it wasn't exactly like that. More like Finn appropriated his jacket when he thought Poe was dead and then Poe refused to let him give it back. Same thing, really.

He also took Finn's jacket to be repaired after the events on StarKiller, driven by some unconscious desire to fix things. He might not have been able to stitch Finn's back together, but the jagged stripe down the back of Finn's jacket: no problem. It's not perfect, but close enough that if Finn's noticed he hasn't said anything.

Hasn't said anything, but he has noticed. Poe catches him sometimes, running his thumb along the new seam, fingers tracing the meandering path of Kylo Ren's lightsaber. And okay, he's probably reliving the attack, but that's something Poe doesn't want to think about so instead he pretends Finn's just touched by the gesture; imagines the way he holds the coat is more reverence than fear.

(Even the first time he caught Finn wearing it Poe's heart stuttered, and those were early days, his friendship with Finn still a blooming friendship, nothing like what he feels now.)

Finn still wears the jacket, all the time, like it's his prized possession. When he's not wearing it it's hung neatly over the back of the chair in their shared quarters ( _thought you might want to bunk with a friend_ , Poe had said, thrilled when Finn agreed). Poe likes that he wears it, even when he knows he shouldn't. Finn's got enough going on adjusting to Resistance life. The last thing he needs is his friend and roommate assigning significance to an arbitrary piece of gifted clothing.

Except, lately--since the first hand-holding incident Poe now realizes--Finn's adopted a bit of a _what's yours is mine_ attitude, which, yeah, probably makes sense given that First Order possessions were state possessions and sharing was just what you had to do. So he's not surprised when Finn's steals his books or borrows his tools. It doesn't even bother him when Finn uses his soap or shampoo. What does throw him--though not in a bad way--is spotting Finn across the mess hall wearing one of Poe's t-shirts.

"Is that your..." Jess gets out and, okay, yeah, apparently Poe does assign significance, possessive pride puffing up his chest.

"Wait," Jess says, noticing. Her hand is on his arm, her gaze accusatory but also really, really happy and, no..., just no... "Are you two...?"

He feels himself deflate at that--can only imagine what it looks like, but whatever it is it isn't good, Jess' grin vanishing inside a hyper-second.

"He probably just didn't have a clean one," Poe says, which is ludicrous because Finn always has clean shirts, Finn's laundry cycle practically regimented.

"Right," Jess says, clearly not believing it. She's eyeing Poe sideways now, gaze fixed on Finn, narrow frown scrutinizing. "I'm starting to think you're both idiots," she finally says, shaking her head. She offers him a consolatory pat on the shoulder before wandering off, Poe left staring at Finn, or more precisely, at the place where Poe's t-shirt pulls across Finn's chest, the fabric tight but also really, really...

"Poe!" Finn shouts, rescuing him from the thought. Crushing is one thing, lusting something else entirely. Poe offers what he hopes is a convincing, innocent smile, and then crosses the room to join Finn in the mess line.

Poe doesn't mention the shirt. Not while they're standing in line. Not while they're carrying rations to a table near the back. Not even when they sit down. He doesn't mean to mention it at all except Finn shifts, fabric pulling, Finn forced to adjust it and...

"Your clothes are way too small," he says, because apparently acknowledging this is a thing Finn's okay with doing.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Poe says. He's not, but it feels like the right thing to say, especially when Finn beams at him, eyes bright like he somehow finds Poe especially amusing.

"Not your fault," he says, grinning like he's told a particularly clever joke.

The whole conversation is lost on Poe who can only sit there, staring, a little dumbfounded and a lot turned on and... yeah, Jess was right: He is an idiot.

~*~

III. Stormtroopers share effects (redux)

It goes on like that for a couple of weeks. Not every day, just every few, Finn turning up in something of Poe's--a shirt, a belt, and on one particularly memorable occasion, a pair of Poe's pants. It's... distracting. But also nice in a way Poe doesn't want to question because questioning it would lead to the painful reminder than Finn _doesn't know_ , that he just shares clothes because he's a sharing kind of guy and...

Poe's maybe starting to hate his life.

So he just goes with it; lets Finn steal anything he wants, purposefully ignoring the despondent, traitorous part of his heart bent on reminding him this isn't real.

It feels real, Finn sometimes returning his things unlaundered, clean but warm and smelling of Finn and if Poe doesn't immediately wash them, if he maybe even wears them before sending them out to be washed... well, it's only because he's conserving water and energy and not because he's hopelessly, pathetically in love.

Also, Finn does smell really, really nice.

And it's really not fair, Poe thinks, Finn having the benefit of double the wardrobe, Poe only the endless agony of Finn-stretched sweaters that set his heart racing and cock stiffening and... _to hell with it_ , he thinks.

Finn's clothes are hung neatly in his locker, arranged according to first article and then colour. There's probably a fabric weight classification in there too, but Poe's too busy ignoring the hammering of his heart to pay close enough attention.

He goes for a t-shirt, standard issue, as non-descript as most of the clothes Finn has accumulated. It's nothing Poe would normally wear, but so very Finn a thrill runs through him as he pulls it on. It's far too big, but comfortable, Finn's lingering scent--what the laundry couldn't get out--reaching Poe's nose, Poe momentarily overwhelmed by it.

This was probably a really, really bad idea.

The thought is sharp enough he resolves to remove the shirt, slip it back into Finn's rotation, smooth out the wrinkles like he hadn't had it on to begin with. Naturally, the door opens first, BB-8 careening into the room, followed swiftly by Finn who freezes the second he spots Poe.

And of course he notices--how could he not? Hell, Poe's still standing in front of Finn's locker, the door propped open.

"Um," he tries, cycling through a rotation of excuses. _I don't have any clean laundry. I really like this shirt. You're wearing my vest so I thought it was trade clothes day_. None of them sound particularly convincing.

"Uh," he tries again.

"Hey," Finn says, like he's only just walked into the room, like he didn't spend a full minute staring at Poe--or more specifically the shirt Poe's wearing. He's wearing that smile of his, the one he gets when they hold hands, the one he reserves for the times he lets Poe steal his tomatoes: the one he shoots Poe every night, just before they turn in, soft _goodnight_ displacing the darkness between them.

"So, um, is this okay?" Poe still has to ask, because apparently the subject isn't off limits and while Poe can't explain his motives for borrowing Finn's shirt (lie) he doesn't exactly want to pretend he didn't do it.

And Finn, wonderful, agreeable Finn, lights up, like he thinks Poe is an idiot (Poe clearly is) but likes him anyway and... yeah, he definitely should have seen this coming.

"Absolutely," Finn tells him, and then he's extending a hand, dragging Poe from the room because shirt or no shirt, Poe's still got a supply run to coordinate and Finn wants to watch the supply ships break orbit.

~*~

They don't tease him. Much. At least, not in Finn's hearing, though Jess' eyes bulge a little, her lip trembling against barely suppressed mirth. Poe ignores her. Finn wears his clothes all the time so he can wear Finn's and that's all there is to it. It doesn't mean anything. Finn's just really into sharing. Living with that many stormtroopers is probably like living with a lot of brothers. Boundaries don't exactly apply.

~*~

IV. Stormtroopers don't necessarily communicate

"Anyway, you should totally come," Snap says, after he's finished explaining the broader nuances of a party. A case of Corellian ale found its way onto one of the supply ships, hence the need for a party.

It's honestly not a surprise Finn hasn't been to one. The First Order don't exactly seem like the partying kind. Still, Poe squeezes Finn's hand because Finn's looking a little confused, like the pieces in Snap's narrative aren't exactly lining up.

"It's not mandatory," Poe tells him, and then, because he's an idiot, adds, "we could do something else."

"Hell, no," Snap interrupts, somewhat oblivious to the slashing motion Jess is making across her throat. Anyone else Poe would put in their place, but Snap's been cool about not teasing him--doesn't even seem to notice Poe's predicament--so he figures he owes Snap one. Still...

"Finn can decide for himself, Snap," he says, which probably contradicts his point, but...

"Of course he can," Snap says, sitting up a little straighter. "I'm just saying," he meets Finn's eye then, leaning forward like he's about to impart some great secret. "You've been conscious, what? Almost four months. It's high time you put yourself out there."

Poe immediately hates where this is going, but Finn's his own man and it's not up to him to refute Snap's suggestion.

"Out there for what?" Finn asks, honestly confused. Snap boggles.

"Dating, man. You know, girls and sex and..."

It's as far as he gets before Jess has a hold of his ear, twisting until he's yelping, body sinking in a desperate bid to get free.

Poe is holding himself very still--can't remember the last time he was this still--acutely aware of the fact that he's wearing Finn's shirt; that Finn's once again wearing his jacket. He doesn't want to look at Finn--really doesn't want to look at Finn--but cowardice isn't exactly his thing so Poe grits his teeth and does exactly that.

He catches Jess' gaze on the way, long enough to spot the pity she's trying to mask as sympathy. Finding Finn's gaze is harder, but only because Finn is staring at the table, brow furrowed, nose wrinkled like he honestly can't figure out what Snap's talking about. That probably shouldn't elicit relief, except that it does, sharp and profound until Finn says:

"But I'm already seeing someone."

And wow, okay. Poe knows pain--crashing a bird, getting tortured, having Kylo Ren forcing his way into your head--but this is something new, something raw and powerful and awful--so very very awful--because he kind of sort of thought Finn might--maybe, slight possibility--have a thing for Rey but to hear it confirmed, to hear they're actually an item... it's too much, Poe an idiot for ever thinking Finn might like him, that all the time they spend together might actually mean something.

Kriff.

"You are?" Snap asks, completely oblivious. He's batted away Jess' hand, but she's still glaring at him, like she's thinking about ramming a fork into his thigh. Poe shakes his head, very minutely, his version of _it's fine_.

It's not, of course, and Jess knows that, but it's not like he's going to make a big deal of it--doesn't want anyone else to either. It's not like he didn't know this was coming. He'd just thought...

"Was I not supposed to say something?" Finn is asking him, open confusion pulling at his brow. Finn doesn't exactly like letting the others see him rattled so the question is enough to draw Poe's full attention.

"I... don't know?" Poe answers, because it's not really his place. Finn looks... disappointed. Maybe even a little hurt.

"Oh," he says. "I didn't think you'd mind them knowing about us."

Poe's about to answer, to ask why he'd mind anyone knowing about Finn and Rey when he didn't even know about Finn and Rey when Finn's question fully registers. He repeats it in his head, wondering exactly what he missed because it's not exactly the kind of thing Finn would say about a secret relationship with Rey, which can only really mean...

"You mean about you being my..." he gets out, feeling dumber by the minute. Everyone at the table is staring at them now, even Snap. Finn doesn't seem to notice.

"Boyfriend, yeah," he says, like it's really that simple, like Poe hasn't missed the last... how long?

And then, partly because he's an idiot and partly because he needs to hear the words again:

"Sorry, can you repeat that?" he says. Finn couldn't possibly have said what he thinks Finn said. That would be ridiculous. Impossible. Except everyone at the table is staring between them, like maybe Finn said exactly what Poe thinks he said and... How is that even possible? He wouldn't have missed something that important. Would he have?

And Finn, perfect, amazing Finn, whose fingers are so warm curled around Poe's own, ducks his head, like maybe he's embarrassed, like maybe he's assumed something that Poe's more than happy for him to assume. Except...

"I thought telling people was okay? I mean, no one hides it here," he says, like he's not embarrassed but confused and maybe a little scared and suddenly the last few weeks (weeks!) take on new meaning. Poe fights very hard to keep from leaping into Finn's arms and kissing him senseless.

"It is," he says instead, a little too quickly, like he's afraid Finn's going to take it back.

The smile that earns him is enough to set his stomach fluttering, Poe's a teenager again, hormones so out of whack all he can do is stare, dopey smile tugging at his lips.

He's well aware the others are probably staring--Jess is probably grinning like a lunatic and while he hates that he'll have to endure one of her _I told you sos_ he's more than happy to apologize if it means getting this... Whatever this is. Which, actually...

"Um, we should probably talk," he says, because they probably should, if only so Poe can displace the confusion currently marring Finn's features.

"Okay," Finn says, still uncertain, still rooted in his spot, like he's completely oblivious to Poe's epiphany, like Poe's playing by some new rule book Finn has yet to figure out. Poe can sympathize.

"Come on," he says, rising from his spot and tugging Finn up after him. They get a wolf-whistle as they leave, but that's just Jess, Poe ignoring her in favour of dragging Finn from the room.

~*~

V. Stormtroopers sometimes do communicate

He keeps his hold on Finn's hand all the way back to their quarters. Finn doesn't ask. Poe can tell he wants to, but he waits patiently until they're inside, Poe sealing the door shut behind them.

"So," he says, finally relinquishing Finn's hand. It leaves Finn a little uncertain--Poe can tell--so Poe offers a reassuring smile before gesturing to the chair. He takes a seat on the cot across from it, a good two feet of space between them. This isn't exactly what he wants to be doing right now, but he recognizes the need.

"I'm guessing," he says, after Finn has settled, "fraternizing wasn't exactly permitted in the First Order."

Judging by Finn's expression the question has surprised him, though not unpleasantly. He huffs a laugh. "I'll say."

And this is the part Poe really doesn't want to ask, but really, really needs to.

"Can I ask what happened, when someone was caught fraternizing."

He's expecting a grimace, maybe annoyance, like Poe's finally crossed a line, intruded where he wasn't welcome. Instead Finn's expression grows contemplative, like he wants to get the answer right but isn't particularly bothered by the question.

"I guess it depended on the infraction. Sometimes you'd get a reprimand. Sometimes they'd send you for reconditioning. The always split up the people involved, reassigned them to new divisions."

And okay, that's not so bad, except of course the reconditioning part, Finn having shared enough of that for Poe to get the idea.

"Once," Finn continues, speaking softly like he's about to share a particularly juicy piece of gossip. "I heard they spaced someone, but that might have been a rumour."

"Spaced?" Poe doesn't want to know, he really doesn't, except...

"You know, put someone out the airlock," Finn says, not callus, but unmoved, like putting someone out an airlock is a perfectly ordinary thing to do, like he wouldn't be surprised to learn the Resistance did it all the time.

Poe swallows. He hates this, he really does, but he also really, really needs to understand, so...

"So you came up with ways to... fraternize without anyone noticing," he says.

Finn nods. "It weirded me out at first, how open everyone here is. I mean, the first time we held hands, right in front of everyone... It was terrifying."

Poe remembers it. He can picture it perfectly, the soft look Finn shot him, surprise mingled with fear and excitement and...

They've been dating 23 days by Poe's count. That's... A lot to take in actually.

"And um..." He has no idea how to voice his next question, Poe's stomach churning with nerves. Across the room, BB-8's faint blue charging light provides a single point of illumination. Poe thinks again about calling up the lights, but this conversation is hard enough in the dark... He's not sure he could do this knowing Finn might spot his blush.

"This fraternizing, did it ever include sex?"

He's not at all prepared for Finn's reaction, sharp exhale startlingly loud. He's definitely not prepared for his own reaction, heart picking up speed, tense anticipation making his skin tingle, his mind race. Outside the cockpit, he's not sure he's ever been this close to flying.

"Is that why you wanted to talk?" Finn asks, sounding surprisingly eager. Poe's head swims at the implication.

It wasn't, of course, but now that the question's out there Poe can't exactly lie.

"That might have been one of the reasons," he admits.

Even in the dark, he doesn't miss Finn's grin.

"Awesome," Finn says, like now that it's out in the open the need for subterfuge has vanished entirely. Poe's heart lurches.

Finn continues, "I didn't want to pressure you or anything, and obviously it can wait, but..." He glances over his shoulder here, like he's afraid there's someone else hiding in the room, like he's worried someone might overhear.

"I'd really like to have sex with you," he says when he glances back, gaze pinning Poe in place.

Poe's about to answer that, to tell Finn, yeah, definitely yes on the sex part, when his mind backtracks a bit, replays what Finn just said and...

"You were worried about pressuring me?"

And okay, maybe they should have the lights on for this, Finn unreadable in the dark.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you seemed kind of nervous about everything else, I just assumed..."

And Poe can't help it, he really can't. He doesn't give Finn a chance to finish, his head tipping back, near hysterical laughter spilling from his lips. It's completely inappropriate, but honestly, _what the kriffing hell?_

Silence from across the room cuts his laughter short. Poe can't tell, but he thinks Finn might be a little hurt, like he thinks maybe Poe was laughing at him and, no, that won't do. Before he can stop himself he's sliding off the cot, closing the distance between them, moving slow and deliberate until he's kneeling between Finn's legs, close enough to make out the whites in his eyes.

"Sorry," he says, hands coming up to rest on Finn's thighs. He needs Finn to understand--is desperate for Finn to understand--because if they don't start with everything out in the open this isn't going to work and he _needs_ this to work.

"I need to start by saying I'm an idiot," he says, holding up a hand when it looks like Finn might protest. He needs to get this out, all of it, preferably before he loses his nerve.

"I didn't know we were dating. I wanted us to, but I didn't know about stormtrooper courtship rituals and so I kind of missed some things. Until about an hour ago I thought my feelings for you were unrequited. I thought... I thought you had a thing for Rey."

He's close enough now he doesn't miss the face Finn makes, nose wrinkling at the thought. If it weren't for the conversation they're having--easily the most important one of Poe's life--he'd probably kiss Finn for it. Instead he presses on, well aware of how desperate he sounds--how afraid.

"And it sucked, because I'd really like to be your boyfriend, and have sex with you, and maybe spend the rest of my life with you. Not necessarily in that order, but..."

The press of fingers against his lips silences him, the last of Poe's words coming out a breathy moan. Finn's expression has gone unreadable again, but after a minute he huffs a laugh, more exasperation than defeat so Poe has reason to hope this might actually work out.

"You're an idiot," Finn tells him. "And so am I. I don't know why I thought you knew. I mean, do you know how uncomfortable your t-shirts are?"

Poe wants to laugh at that--really he does--but Finn's fingers are still pressed against his lips and it's taking all of Poe's willpower not to draw them into his mouth.

Finn, apparently, isn't finished.

"I think this is probably the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me, and that includes the time I forgot my blaster during final sims." He shakes his head at that, the movement carrying through his body, fingers shifting minutely against Poe's lips. Poe darts out a tongue to taste their pads. He's rewarded by Finn's full-body shiver.

It sucks then to have Finn pull his fingers away, though he does bring his hands down to cup the backs of Poe's, Poe's fingers still curled around Finn's thighs.

"I think you should probably start by telling me how this works here," he says, which yeah, is probably a good idea. Poe draws a shaky breath.

"Um, this is good. Communication. But um, I guess here we usually flirt and then go out on a date or two and then..."

He's stopped by Finn's fingers again, like Finn has finally found a way to shut Poe up and isn't above using it.

"We flirt all the time, and we've been out at least nine times in the past three weeks," Finn reminds him, which, okay, Poe can see how Finn might have thought that.

Still, he has to wait for Finn to remove his fingers before answering, Finn lingering, like maybe he's as overwhelmed as Poe, like maybe he needs the minute as much as Poe does, relationships so much easier when there's only one end goal in mind.

For the first time in Poe's life he wants so much more than that.

"Okay," Poe says when he's able, "except I kind of missed the flirting, so I thought we were just..."

"Hanging out?"

"Yeah," Poe answers, relieved. "It was driving me crazy."

Finn laughs at that, just like he did back on the flight deck, that first time, their fingers carded together, Finn staring at him like... Oh.

"So what could I have done to make it clear," Finn eventually says. He's grinning now, amused like this isn't the most serious conversation of Poe's life. Poe stares at him, comprehension dawning when the edges of Finn's grin grow soft.

"You probably should have kissed me," Poe says, like the answer was obvious--and it was--subtlety never Poe's strong suit, not where this is concerned.

"So the hand-holding and food sharing didn't tip you off, but kissing would have?" Finn sounds incredulous, but also really, really delighted, like Poe's just handed over the rule book, like he's eagerly anticipating putting the information to good use.

"Definitely," Poe says, because yeah, that would have made things really clear.

~*~

I. Resistance fighters steal kisses (so do Stormtroopers)

Finn doesn't exactly waste time. Poe thinks he gets it. Finn knows exactly what he wants and goes after it, whether it's borrowing Poe's shirts or stealing Poe's kisses. His hands, which until now were still cupping the backs of Poe's, come up to frame Poe's cheeks, Finn impossibly gentle as he slides them back, letting his fingers tangle in the hair at the base of Poe's neck. Poe can't help himself: he shivers.

And then moans when Finn tugs him forward, bringing their lips together in a near-kiss that's literally breathtaking. That's never happened to Poe before, his entire body shuddering for want of air. Finn is warm against him, his lips soft and teasing, barely touching, just sort of hovering there until Poe can't take it anymore.

He bridges the gap between them, not quite slamming into Finn, but they make contact hard enough that he knocks Finn almost off-balance, Finn flailing under him until he gets a hand around Poe's waist, steadying them both. And okay, climbing into Finn's lap wasn't exactly part of the plan, but it works, so Poe goes for it, getting settled and then tilting his head to deepen the kiss. He is inordinately pleased when that gets him a response, Finn groaning beneath him.

And this, Poe thinks, this would have definitely made things clear. No mistaking this, not with Finn flushed beneath him, the material of Poe's shirt--Finn's shirt--clenched in his fingers, the bottom of Poe's lip pulled between his teeth, Finn _trembling_ against him...

Of course that's when Finn pulls back, just far enough to get some space in between them, but Poe whines his protest all the same. His only consolation: Finn doesn't relinquish his grip.

"I don't want to go to the party," Finn says then, very serious, like it means something _very_ important.

And yeah, Poe thinks, it really, really does.

"Good, me either," Poe tells him, which was obviously the right thing to say because the smile Finn shoots him is dazzling. Poe has half a second to appreciate it before they're kissing again, 23 days of tension rising between them, Finn as desperate as he is, Poe giddy with the thought.

Later, when Jess asks him how his night went, this will be the moment he remembers. Not the way Finn clutched at his shoulders, not the slide of Finn's tongue against his own, not even the heat spilling between them, but the way they moved together, perfectly in sync, on exactly the same page like they were that time in the Tie fighter, all of this destined from practically the moment they met.

It makes it so, so easy, then, to draw back and say, "So, uh, about the sex..."

Easy, too, to smile when Finn tips his head back and laughs.

 

End.


End file.
